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Day 25: Think on the positive when feeling negative
Has your husband done anything in the past few days that has really frustrated or hurt you? How did you handle it?
Were you able to focus on the good instead of dwelling on the negative? Or did you struggle and share your hurt with someone else? Or allow the existing concern to become even bigger in your mind? ("And he also does this ... and this ...") As you have been learning, these are not just verbal but mental habits that we're trying to break with this Challenge.
Today, forgive yourself for your mistakes and then (using your personal notebook) make a note of how you handled the hurt or frustration, as well as your husband's response, and how you can respond next time.
Coach's Corner:
Nixing the negatives in your own thoughts takes practice and discipline. As you've already discovered, awareness is the first step. The second is to purposely shift to thinking something positive. As Dr. Michael Sytsma states, "We're told in the Bible and in a lot of the psychological research to 'take captive' certain negative or harmful thoughts. The problem is that when you're trying to work through a very real concern, the more you try NOT to focus on something the more power you give to it."
Read more about how to address real issues without dwelling on the negative in this interview with marriage counselor, Dr. Michael Sytsma.
The 30-Day Kindness Challenge is brought to you via our partnership with Shaunti Feldhahn, and is based on her research for The Kindness Challenge.
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